In some transportation arrangements, drivers meet at a prearranged location and exchange trailer(s) including freight. For example, a load being transported from Florida to New York may be picked up in Florida by a first driver and transferred from the first driver to a second driver in North Carolina. The second driver may then take the load from North Carolina to New York. On some occasions, the first driver may also pick up a trailer for transport back to Florida. These exchanges are typically done to reduce the distance an individual driver must travel before returning to his home terminal or place of residency. The transfer of the load from one driver to another driver is generally referred to as a “transportation relay.”
Conventionally, a time and location for the transportation relay is scheduled to be approximately halfway between the home terminals for each driver. Delayed relays can impact other relays, movement of other shipments, and the estimated return time to the home terminal. Thus, relay delays may have a ripple effect through an entire transportation network.
Therefore, a need exists for a systems and methods to automatically determine when a transportation relay has occurred. Additionally, automatic updating of route plans based on the determination that a transportation relay has occurred is also needed.